Palemonids

History

Jan Długosz (1415–1480) wrote that the Lithuanians were of Roman origin, but did not provide any proof. The legend is first recorded in the second edition of the Lithuanian Chronicles produced in the 1530s. At the time the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was quarrelling with the Kingdom of Poland, rejecting the claims that Poland had civilized the pagan and barbaric Lithuania. The Lithuanian nobility felt a need for the ruling dynasty to show upstanding origins, as the only available chronicles at the time were written by the Teutonic Knights, a long-standing enemy, and depicted Gediminas, ancestor of the Gediminids dynasty, as a hostler of Vytenis.

In this new Lithuanian chronicle, Palemon (sometimes identified as Polemon II of Pontus), a relative of Roman emperor Nero, escaped Rome together with 500 noble families. The company traveled north, through the Baltic Sea, and reached the Nemunas Delta. After that they decided to sail upstream until they reached the mouth of Dubysa. There, the Palemonids settled on a large hill (now known as the ) and ruled the country for generations until the Gediminids emerged. Multiple contradictory versions of the legend survive to this day as historians tried to patch up some obvious mistakes and make it more historically sound.

The first to critically evaluate and reject the legend was historian Joachim Lelewel in 1839. At the end of the 19th century there were some attempts, for example in a history written by Maironis, to tie the legend with the expansion of the Vikings.

A neighborhood in Kaunas is named after Palemonids – .

Genealogical tree according to the second edition of the ''Lithuanian Chronicles''

References

References

1. Ivinskis, Zenonas. (1953–1966). "Palemonas". Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla.
2. Ivinskis, Zenonas. (1953–1966). "Metraščiai". Lietuvių enciklopedijos leidykla.
3. Jonynas, Ignas. (1936). "Borkus". Spaudos Fondas.
4. Jučas, Mečislovas. (2000). "Lietuvos ir Lenkijos unija". Aidai.